Sec. 29-161q. Qualifications of security officers. License. Instructor approval. Registration. Identification card. Prohibition. Penalty. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 29-161q. Qualifications of security officers. License. Instructor approval. Registration. Identification card. Prohibition. Penalty. (a) Any security service or business may employ as many security officers as such security service or business deems necessary for the conduct of the business, provided such security officers are of good moral character and at least eighteen years of age.

      (b) No person hired or otherwise engaged to perform work as a security officer, as defined in section 29-152u, shall perform the duties of a security officer prior to being licensed as a security officer by the Commissioner of Public Safety. Each applicant for a license shall complete a minimum of eight hours training in the following areas: Basic first aid, search and seizure laws and regulations, use of force, basic criminal justice and public safety issues. The training shall be approved by the commissioner in accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to section 29-161x.

      (1) On and after October 1, 2008, no person or employee of an association, corporation or partnership shall conduct such training without the approval of the commissioner except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection. Application for such approval shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the commissioner and accompanied by a fee of twenty dollars. Such application shall be made under oath and shall contain the applicant's name, address, date and place of birth, employment for the previous five years, education or training in the subjects required to be taught under this subsection, any convictions for violations of the law and such other information as the commissioner may require by regulation adopted pursuant to section 29-161x to properly investigate the character, competency and integrity of the applicant. No person shall be approved as an instructor for such training who has been convicted of a felony, a sexual offense or a crime of moral turpitude or who has been denied approval as a security service licensee, a security officer or instructor in the security industry by any licensing authority, or whose approval has been revoked or suspended. The term for such approval shall not exceed two years. Not later than two business days after a change of address, any person approved as an instructor in accordance with this section shall notify the commissioner of such change and such notification shall include both the old and new addresses.

      (2) If a security officer training course described in this subsection is approved by the commissioner on or before September 30, 2008, the instructor of such course shall have until April 1, 2009, to apply for approval as an instructor in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection.

      (3) Each person approved as an instructor in accordance with this section may apply for the renewal of such approval on a form approved by the commissioner, accompanied by a fee of twenty dollars. Such form may require the disclosure of any information necessary for the commissioner to determine whether the instructor's suitability to serve as an instructor has changed since the issuance of the prior approval. The term of such renewed approval shall not exceed two years.

      (c) Upon successful completion of the training pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the applicant may submit an application for a license as a security officer on forms furnished by the commissioner and, under oath, shall give the applicant's name, address, date and place of birth, employment for the previous five years, experience in the position applied for, any convictions for violations of the law and such other information as the commissioner may require, by regulation, to properly investigate the character, competency and integrity of the applicant. Applicants shall submit with their application two sets of fingerprints of the employee and the Commissioner of Public Safety shall require any applicant for a license under this section to submit to state and national criminal history records checks conducted in accordance with section 29-17a. Applicants shall submit with their application two sets of their fingerprints and two full-face photographs of them, two inches wide by two inches high, taken not earlier than six months prior to the date of application, and a fifty-dollar licensing fee, made payable to the state. Subject to the provisions of section 46a-80, no person shall be approved for a license who has been convicted of a felony, any sexual offense or any crime involving moral turpitude, or who has been refused a license under the provisions of sections 29-161g to 29-161x, inclusive, for any reason except minimum experience, or whose license, having been granted, has been revoked or is under suspension. Upon being satisfied of the suitability of the applicant for licensure, the commissioner may license the applicant as a security officer. Such license shall be renewed every five years for a fifty-dollar fee.

      (d) Upon the security officer's successful completion of training and licensing by the commissioner, or immediately upon hiring a licensed security officer, the security service employing such security officer shall apply to register such security officer with the commissioner on forms provided by the commissioner. Such application shall be accompanied by payment of a twenty-dollar application fee payable to the state. The Division of State Police within the Department of Public Safety shall keep on file the completed registration form and all related material. An identification card with the name, date of birth, address, full-face photograph, physical descriptors and signature of the applicant shall be issued to the security officer, and shall be carried by the security officer at all times while performing the duties associated with the security officer's employment. Registered security officers, in the course of performing their duties, shall present such card for inspection upon the request of a law enforcement officer.

      (e) The security service shall notify the commissioner not later than five days after the termination of employment of any registered employee.

      (f) Any fee or portion of a fee paid pursuant to this section shall not be refundable.

      (g) No person, firm or corporation shall employ or otherwise engage any person as a security officer, as defined in section 29-152u, unless such person is a licensed security officer.

      (h) Any person, firm or corporation that violates any provision of subsection (b), (d), (e) or (g) of this section shall be fined seventy-five dollars for each offense. Each distinct violation of this section shall be a separate offense and, in the case of a continuing violation, each day thereof shall be deemed a separate offense.

      (P.A. 04-192, S. 32; P.A. 08-73, S. 8.)

      History: P.A. 08-73 amended Subsec. (a) to add "or business" and make technical changes, amended Subsec. (b) to add reference to being engaged to perform work, replace reference to registered security officers with licensed security officers, make conforming changes and add Subdivs. (1), (2) and (3) re commissioner's approval for persons conducting training for security officers, amended Subsec. (c) to replace $20 licensing fee every 2 years with $50 licensing fee every 5 years and to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (d) to make technical changes and add provision re employment identification card for security officer, made technical changes in Subsec. (e), and added Subsec. (f) re fees being nonrefundable, Subsec. (g) re prohibition against employing a nonlicensed security officer and Subsec. (h) re penalty.